One of the first things that happen upon seeing great art is how we're obliged to block off the outside world and dedicate ourselves to it. We shape and reshape the space in our own image. We engage with the piece. We nibble on it. We give it a subliminal think. We look around for something new, or maybe go to check if we see some clues, a sense of familiarity somehow. And when we can't, we find something much more beautiful: a new way of life.
In the Filipino contemporary art scene, some very dedicated people have made it their business to achieve this transcendent beauty. For the artist, this means articulating this profound feeling through their respective mediums. For the collector, it's about creating a world entirely their own. The curator, on the other hand, elevates the discourse. The gallerist, of course, has learned how to own and propagate it. For the iconoclasts, they can do it all.
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Ronald Ventura
"Party Animal" (2017)
Any conversation about contemporary Philippine art without mentioning Ronald Ventura would be incomplete. Already a legend in his own time, Ventura is acclaimed not just in his home country, but throughout Southeast Asia and beyond. That his artworks regularly sell in the mid to high eight figures is the result of a bold art style characterized by the coming together of fantasy and realism, of wonder and whimsy mixed with the tangible and true. And while he’s been active for years, he gives off the impression that he’s only just getting started. The prolific artist just turned 50 this year and as his perspectives and sensibilities evolve and mature, we can undoubtedly expect much more interesting works from him in the years ahead.
Andres Barrioquinto
"Impulse of Desire" (2022)
Art enthusiasts will instantly recognize an Andres Barrioquinto piece—they’re often the ones in vivid color, with stop-you-in-your-tracks images, and an overall quality that is strangely transfixing. Much has been said about him in art circles here and abroad, and all the praise is well-deserved. The artist has mounted multiple exhibitions in many of the world’s art capitals, including Japan, Singapore, and the United States, and he is a current favorite for many collectors here and abroad.
Juanito “Quiccs" Maiquez
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The art of Juanito “Quiccs" Maiquez is the convergence of Japanese robot culture, hip-hop, and graffiti. There was certainly a street art scene in the country before Quiccs burst onto the scene in the late 1990s, but he undoubtedly helped elevate what was previously thought of as a lowly, uncouth art style into what it is today: respected, widespread, and monetizable. He has since gone on to design and develop designer toys, establish partnerships with international brands, and be invited to art and toy exhibitions and conventions all over the world, but he certainly hasn’t lost that rough edge in his art that first endeared him to fans.
Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera
"Sabel" (2003)
It’s been over 60 years since Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera first made a name as an artist of exceptional caliber yet his star continues to burn bright and shows no sign of dimming. As a young boy growing up in Malabon, he was exposed to social ills that made their way into his art, and this awareness never left him even as life led him elsewhere in the world. Upon his return to the motherland, he settled in Baguio, where he eventually opened his namesake museum and where he resides to this day. He has been called many names throughout his career, including the impressive “bestselling painter of his generation,” but BenCab’s most enduring legacy is how his art provides a unique insight into the soul of the Filipino.
Julie Lluch
"Susanna and the Elders" (2015)
In the pantheon of great Filipino artists, there is a distressing dearth of women. It's fortunate, then, that we at least have someone like Julie Lluch. A self-taught sculptor who works primarily with materials such as stone, terracotta, marble, and bronze, Lluch graduated with a degree in philosophy from the University of Santo Tomas and has since become a leading exponent of the feminist movement in Filipino arts and culture. Beyond the immediately apparent figures of her creations, Lluch’s art provides commentary on a range of social and spiritual issues, primarily those that affect women.
Jigger Cruz
"Self Portrait" (2017)
Being a color-blind artist, Jigger Cruz’s interpretation of color taps into its more sensorial qualities rather than the visual. He materializes his thoughts on the social and political status of contemporary Philippines by employing techniques such as impasto, cutting, and spraying paint—creating three-dimensional layers of brightly colored pigment. Cruz’s works are displayed in several public collections, including The Dikeou Collection in Denver; Guggenheim Museum in New York; Saatchi Collection in London; and Zabludowicz Collection, also in London.
Romeo Lee
"LEEwok and Friends" (2018)
Romeo Lee’s outrageously punk personality as a music connoisseur, performer, and mountaineer inevitably bleeds into his artistry. His subjects are often ghoulish, folklorish characters brought to life with a mayhem of swirly strokes and layers of opposing colors. In 2010, Lee was one of the artists featured in Bastards of Misrepresentation, a group exhibit of contemporary shows curated by the famed Manuel Ocampo.
Pow Martinez
"The Dreamers" (2022)
Pow Martinez offers eclectic playfulness in his works, which call attention to the absurdity of Philippine history, culture, and art. Contrary to his grotesque subjects, his style makes use of explosive colors foregrounded by exaggerated, cartoonish figures. Martinez has exhibited in multiple galleries across the country and the world, including Germany, France, Thailand, and United States, among others. In 2010, he also received a citation from the prestigious Ateneo Art Awards.
Elmer Borlongan
"Tampuhan" (1992)
Elmer Borlongan began his artist journey young. At the age of 11, he started taking painting lessons from the Father of the Philippine Art Workshop, Fernando Sena. Borlongan’s distinctive use of figurative expressionism displays the influences of the scenes he witnessed growing up in urban Manila, particularly attuned to the social and economic contours of society. He’s a multi-awarded contemporary artist whose distinctions include the CCP's Thirteen Artists Award in 1994.
Rodel Tapaya and Marina Cruz
"Nesting" (2020) and "Tuesday" (2020)
Partners in life and profession, Rodel Tapaya and Marina Cruz are an art power couple. The pair first met at the College of Fine Arts in the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2000, and went on to carve impressive careers in their own right. In 2020, they had a two-person exhibit at Artinformal Gallery, showcasing works that were inspired by the trials of the Covid-19 pandemic. Both Tapaya and Cruz are CCP Thirteen Artists awardees in 2012.
Mark Justiniani
"Last Trip" (1990)
When we think of Mark Justiniani, we can't help but think of one of the great social realists in the country. His work as an artist and activist in the '80s and '90s would lead him to become a key figurehead in artist collectives like Artista ng Bayan or ABAY, Salingpusa, Sanggawa, and the Sakay group. His works continue to be shown in exhibits and conferences in Manila, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Jakarta, and Brisbane, among other cities. The Bacolod-born artist's innovative use of materials like glass and stainless steel, as well as the range and philosophical depth of his post-colonial subject matter, continue to captivate critics and curators around the world.
Manuel Ocampo
"Reading the Rulebook" (2018)
As big an iconoclast as anyone involved in art, Manuel Ocampo is a true icon of the Filipino art scene. The master of political allegory and metaphor has transcended styles, creating new pieces with emotionally charged motifs and provocations. He's been a recipient of a number of accolades in his close to 30-year art practice. These include the Giverny Residency, the Rome Prize at the American Academy, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, among others. Often referenced by artists, curators, and institutions worldwide, he remains one of the Philippines' most prolific artists.
Emmanuel "Manny" Garibay
"Perya" (2012)
For more than three decades now, Emmanuel "Manny" Garibay has become a chief critic of ideology and religion with his blend of social realism and avant-garde figurative expressions. His figurative style draws from everyday scenes of political and social turmoil, often contending with the controversial and the religious. The expressionist was an active member of the Artista Ng Bayan group in the '80s and has since become an icon in Philippine art. The North Cotabato-born storyteller and painter also established Linangan Art Residency in Cavite, which has become an incubator for emerging artists in the province.
Charlie Co
"Blind Pinocchios Leading the Blind Pinocchios" (2011)
Since hosting his first solo show in 1983, Charlie Co has become one of Bacolod's most prominent contemporary artists. He's best known for his brand of out-there social realism, communicated through expressionist and surrealist modalities. About 40 shows later, his works have traversed the globe, from galleries and museums in Australia and China to Hong Kong and Singapore. Co also happens to be a founding member of the Bacolod-based group Black Artists of Asia, which has constantly represented artist communities in the Visayas. Co would go on to create Orange Gallery with Victor Benjamin, offering artists and curators an opportunity to expand and elevate their respective art practices.
Kiko Escora
"SPECTACLE FOR THE LADIES" (1997)
Rare is the Filipino contemporary virtuoso of Kiko Escora's caliber. As a pillar of the underground artist movement, his works are characterized by transgressive images, hedonism, and a kind of vivid frenzy only he can articulate. His works encompass painting, graphic design, fashion, sculpture, installations, and beyond. They often toy around with themes of mortality, contradiction, and drama, with subjects torn between sensuality and tragedy. Apart from being given the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Thirteen Artists Award in 2003, he's exhibited in cities like Dubai, Miami, New York, Spain, and more. He is as prolific as they come, and it seems like he's uninterested in slowing the hell down.
Jared Yokte
"The Tutelage of a New Angler" (2021)
Jared Yokte's amorphous wacky, hairy figures are the stuff of myths and desires. They are often depicted in habitats that nurture cosmic fervor, framing their existential dread. We can say that he composes the elements in a wonderfully peculiar and anthropological manner that borders twisted narratives, the philosophical, sexual, fantastical, and abstract. We've seen his works exhibited in leading galleries and art fairs all over Manila, including Blanc Gallery, Vinyl on Vinyl, Art Verite Gallery, Art Fair Philippines, ALT Philippines, and Leon Gallery.
Nunelucio "Nune" Alvarado
"Lain Buot" (2008)
Nune Alvarado is one of Bacolod's most beloved artists for a reason. The Negrense artist is a social realist who has religiously depicted life in the cane fields, mills, and fisheries in the Negros islands for about four decades now. A founding member of the Black Artists in Asia, he became one of the most prominent visual artists in the Philippines for the brilliance of his colors and figures, adhering to strong cubist sensibilities. Among some of the accolades he's garnered over the years are the Thirteen Artists Award of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Grand Prize Winner of Philip Morris Asian Arts Awards. His works have been displayed in Manila, Bacolod, Brisbane, and other cities worldwide.
Doktor Karayom
"Mabilisang Usapan, Matagalang Intindihan" (2021)
Russell Trinidad aka Doktor Karayom went from being a graphic designer and street artist to one of the most important contemporary artists of his generation. There's something so raw, evocative, and mercurial in his imagery, drawing from saturated reds and a vision for horror and gore entirely his own. And he does so with just the right amount of whimsy to keep us looking. His naturalistic approach to dissecting the grotesque in human anatomy often reveals the social ills and ironies of modern life. He's exhibited in leading galleries in Manila, Paris, and more.
Pio Abad
"Every Tool Is A Weapon If You Hold It Right XLI" (2018)
Perhaps best known for his "The Collection of Jane Ryan and William Saunders," Pio Abad is a well-regarded interdisciplinary artist. The power of Abad's work lies in its social and political inclinations. These pieces concern themselves with the vivid historical memory of his home country. The British-Filipino painter asks viewers to confront the myriad contradictions of a torn people, from alternative states to repression and ideological unraveling. Abad's works are displayed in the collections of the Tate in the UK, Paris, San Francisco, and Art Jameel, Dubai, among other museums. Apart from these, he happens to be the curator of the estate of his aunt, the late great Filipino-American artist Pacita Abad.
Leeroy New
"Aliens of Manila: New York Colony" (2019)
Leeroy New is a designer and artist most notable for his massive public art and installations. He operates in the intersection between ecological heritage and urban spaces. As the very first recipient of the Sculpture Prize of the Metrobank Award for Design and Excellence, he is a practitioner of what we may call “applied sculpture.” New's perspectival experimentation turns materials into post-apocalyptic visions, rendered through spaceships and dystopic gardens. In the past, he has been a recipient of the CCP Thirteen Artists Awards and was an Asian Cultural Council fellow in New York City. His art can be seen at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ayala Museum, Paoay Sand Dunes, and more.
Isabel Santos
"Are the People Rejoicing?" (2022)
Isabel Santos may be a descendant of the famous contemporary artist Mauro "Malang" Santos, but she sure has painted her own mark in the local and international art scene. Santos makes striking use of mixed media in her work, channeling the mundanities that give everyday life meaning through deconstruction and pop culture accents. An exhibiting artist since 2013, she already has a number of shows and residencies on her mantle, including CAMAC in Marnat sur Seine, France; Galerie 103 in Berlin, Germany; and League Residency at Vyt in New York, USA.
Summer De Guia
"Out of Eden" (2021)
Summer De Guia finds her artistic female gaze set on examining the politics of beauty standards and self-worth. She communicates her messages about the societal pressures that encumber women through conceptual paintings of nude anamorphic figures placed in intimate spaces. De Guia has exhibited her works in several galleries such as Modeka Art and Galerie Stephanie.
Anton Del Castillo
"Bagyo I (Storm I)" (2018)
The multi-awarded artist Anton Del Castillo has managed to create something sublime out of the blacks, golds, and transformative nature of time. His themes reflect the essence of humanistic agony, addressing the concerns of man caught in limbo, war, religious angst, and fleeting innocence. We recognize his motifs for the way they reimagine media, metal, guilt, and peace, often relying on a certain playfulness to balance the image out. Since establishing himself as one of the leading contemporary artists in Southeast Asia, Del Castillo has been a part of various solo and group exhibitions in Beijing, Hong Kong, New York, Malaysia, Singapore, Tokyo, and Manila.
Dex Fernandez
"Different is Not a Bad Thing" (2014)
Drawing inspiration from surrealism, street art, and found footage, Dex Fernandez is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans painting and drawings to murals; mixed-media works; and vintage photography-inspired posters. His psychedelic portraits and murals are a feast of colors, patterns, and pictures that come together to challenge the notions of high and low art. Fernandez has completed several international residencies, including at the Fine Art Work Centre in Provincetown, Massachusetts; Ping Pong Art Space, Taipei; and Art Center Ongoing, Tokyo.
Buen Abrigo
"Fleet in Being II" (2020)
Buen Abrigo employs mixed media paintings as a tool for subversion. His precise brushstrokes synthesize into gritty compositions that reflect the artist’s position on historical affairs and social dilemmas. A recipient of the CCP's Thirteen Artists Awards, Abrigo's maiden solo breakout exhibit, held at e Galerie in 2007, was well-received by collectors and critics alike. He was also a two time-finalist in the PLDT DPC Annual Visual Arts Competition in 2005 and 2006.
Profiles written by the Esquire Philippines Team
Art by Louis Miguel A. Talao
Project supervised by Bryle B. Suralta
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